Stirling Eyecare Jan/Feb 2019

JAN/FEB 2019

Our Two Very Different — and Wonderful — Sons Meet Justin and Nathan

Despite being close in age and growing up together, our two sons have very different personalities. Justin is analytical and task- oriented. Nathan is our fun-loving jokester. Justin runs track and plays the trumpet. Nathan had no interest in continuing to play the saxophone, and he’s all about baseball. But as far as siblings go, they’ve always gotten along great. Justin, age 18, is our engineer. As we mentioned, he’s dedicated to everything he tries, and he’s even an Eagle Scout. Justin is a no-frills kind of guy, but he seems to find some peace in the outdoors. He’s currently looking at engineering schools, but we remember back when he was in elementary school. We remember when he took up the trumpet in fourth grade and began running in fifth grade. Justin is still a whiz at the trumpet, and he has switched from cross country to track and field since then. Nathan, age 16, loves baseball. He even gave up basketball to work out for baseball season, and he’s often lifting weights and exercising to improve his game. He’s a shortstop on the school’s varsity team, and he also plays on traveling teams in the region. Unlike his brother, playing music and being a Boy Scout were not activities that meshed with him, but if you need to know anything about baseball or the sport’s history, he’s your guy. With Justin’s love of nature and Nathan’s competitiveness to finish every hike first, our family loves to spend time together at national parks. Before we had kids, we were interning in Salt Lake City, which gave us ample opportunities to travel the west and explore a variety of national parks. We visited Yellowstone National Park and many other parks south of Salt Lake City. About four years ago, we took a trip to the south rim of the Grand Canyon — an absolutely breathtaking view and adventure. As a family, we’ve since then visited Arches National Park in eastern Utah, made it to Glacier National Park in Montana, and toured Zion National Park in southern Utah. We spend a few days hiking and touring these parks while bonding and enjoying time as a family.

We weren’t sure if we were going to make a trip this upcoming spring but Justin wasn’t having it. He told us, “No, this is my last year,” and since we’re not sure what his schedule will look like once he leaves for college, we decided to go once again. We are thrilled that they want to take one more trip together as a family under the same roof. This year’s destination is still up in the air, but if the last four years — and nearly the last two decades — have been any indication, it’s going to be a fun ride.